The Bulwark
· collected 2026-09-05 · by Jonathan V. Last
commentary
A commentary piece written in the first person, critical of Pete Hegseth's management style as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Sen. Thom Tillis has previously suggested that President Trump fire Hegseth due to his perceived incompetence. The author lists two incidents: Hegseth making a joke about Canada on Twitter, which they claim reveals his unpreparedness for modern warfare, and the Department of Veterans Affairs under Hegseth's leadership spending time on non-essential issues rather than focusing on veterans' health and well-being.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Pete Hegseth, a senior Pentagon official, has been criticized for his management of the US military and his handling of sensitive issues related to national defense. Sen. Thom Tillis recently called for President Trump to fire Hegseth, stating that he has never seen more inept management of the military. Tillis accused Hegseth of being intimidated by competent individuals and instead focusing on culture wars rather than addressing critical national security matters. In a separate incident, Hegseth tweeted a joke about Canada's trade war with the US, mocking an image of two young women in vaguely military attire from a Canadian summer cadet program. The photo was actually taken from the Instagram account of a program for kids between 12 and 18 years old who are working on leadership skills, not from any official Canadian Army source.
Written for “Pete Hegseth's Controversy” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country
left criticizes Hegseth's leadership
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He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.
left criticizes Hegseth's priorities
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So Pete Hegseth is a cretin.
left uses derogatory language to describe Hegseth
Leaning score -0.85 for article 4619 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-05
Commentary. The three signals behind a trust
score all measure a newsroom's record with its own reporting, so they
are not computed for this source.
How trust is scored.
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful
reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.
1. Secretary of Trolls
Yesterday Sen. Thom Tillis said that President Trump should fire Pete Hegseth.
asserted
Trump → say → Hegseth
I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country.
asserted
who → witness → country
He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.1
I’m not sure this assessment goes far enough.
asserted
assessment → intimidate → force.1
Today I want to talk about three small incidents that underscore just how much damage Hegseth is doing to American security.
asserted
Hegseth → want → security
Eager to get a couple licks in on Trump’s trade war with Canada, Hegseth tweeted this out:
asserted
Hegseth → get → this
The super butch secretary of WAR is making fun of an American ally by pointing to two women in vaguely military attire and waving his hands.
asserted
secretary → make → hands
Let’s stop for a moment to give you the real story about that photo.
asserted
’s → let → photo
It’s from the Instagram account of a Canadian cadet summer program, in which kids between the ages of 12 and 18 spend the summer working on leadership and service.
asserted
kids → ’ → leadership
The Canadian military is filled with professional soldiers.
asserted
military → fill → soldiers
Hegseth ought to know; 158 Canadian Armed Forces members gave their lives in Afghanistan fighting America’s war for no reason other than honor and solidarity.
asserted
members → know → honor
We knew this.
asserted
We → know → this
What his tweet exposes is how utterly unprepared he is for modern warfare.
asserted
he → expose → warfare
Over the last several months Hegseth and his team have spent a lot of energy
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asserted
Hegseth → spend → post
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asserted
subscription → get → Podcast
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asserted
who → help → membership
